There is no question that weather plays a critical role in the general aviation accident picture. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation's accident database shows that, since 1983, weather has been a causal factor in about 25 percent of all GA accidents. More important, it has been a causal factor in 40 percent of all fatal accidents. Too often we hear of accidents attributed to pilots initiating or continuing VFR flight into IFR conditions (see "Retrospective: VFR into IMC," p. 91). Vital to the dissemination of timely and accurate weather information were the 318 flight service stations that existed in the early 1980s.
We close 1991 with the news of a significant AOPA "win." For more than a decade, under the guise of progress, the FAA has been pursuing its goat of reducing the number of FSSs to 61 highly automated stations. When it was clear that the planned 61 AFSSs would not meet our needs in areas of unique weather and operations, AOPA developed the auxiliary FSS (XFSS) concept. In mountainous and coastal regions particularly, unpredictable weather patterns are common, yet there's considerable flying activity. These facts justify retaining the expertise provided by trained, on-site professionals familiar with the area. We listened to heavy input from you, the user community; enlisted the support of other aviation organizations; and, finally, sought congressional support. In 1990, Congress passed legislation requiring the FAA to "develop and implement a system of manned Auxiliary Flight Service Stations." In fact, Congress actually passed our auxiliary FSS legislation in two critical bills — the FY91 Appropriations Act for the Department of Transportation, as well as the Aviation Safety and Capacity Expansion Act of 1990.
I'll never forget the hostility against AOPA showed by many FAA managers when discussing our XFSS initiative during my early 1991 introductory meetings with them.
At that time, some 120 conventional FSSs remained open. AOPA's Washington, D.C., office of legislative affairs began explaining to a select group of politicians just what the loss of these stations would mean to the aviation community and the pilots in their districts or states. Soon, the FAA and DOT were being asked tough questions by our friends on Capitol Hill regarding the proposed closures.
With this pressure, by March 1991 the FAA had realized we all were serious, and its attitude changed from one of fighting the congressional mandate to moving ahead with a plan to determine the criteria to use to judge which of the 120 stations should remain open. In the meantime, the FAA voluntarily imposed a moratorium on any further FSS closings until at least October 31, 1991. Still, a concern remained that after October 31 some of the existing stations would be decommissioned or drastically cut back in staff. When personnel transferred to another location, they simply wouldn't be replaced, and many FSS specialists would request transfers to automated facilities, where the pay is better and the work is easier. Through these circumstances, the FAA might continue reducing existing stations, some in critical locations, which alarmed us at AOPA headquarters. But most important, it alarmed the pilots in Alaska, where their 27 existing stations were slated to be cut to only three automated facilities. Senators Ted Stevens (R-AK) and Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) addressed this possibility with a bill that required a one-year (later amended to nine-month) moratorium on the closing of existing stations from the date of the submission of the FAA's required plan. Well, the FAA has issued its plan, and now we're into the nine-month hiatus on FSS closings. That allows AOPA and others to properly address the few concerns we have with the FAA plan.
First, the good news. The FAA really did its homework to develop solid criteria for judging the 120 existing FSSs. In cooperation with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), a study identified the weather factors "of significance to aviation" and applied those, along with operational data, to determine XFSS sites. These factors were ranked, and the result was the identification of 31 XFSS sites, five of them seasonal locations due to the nature of use in Alaska (see "AOPA Direct: AOPA Hails Auxiliary Flight Service Station Plan," p. 6). The FAA did such a good job in this analysis that it found an already-closed FSS — Marquette, Michigan — that will reopen as an auxiliary station. Not content to stop there, however, 15 "supplemental weather services stations" were added at locations that have significant traffic but do not qualify for XFSS designation due to the ranking formula. Forty-six facilities instead of none spells a real victory for pilots, particularly those of us in general aviation who must fly in — rather than above — the weather.
During the coming months, AOPA's technical staff will seek to achieve some changes to the FAA plan, and we've already begun discussions on those issues. Thanks to the efforts of senators Stevens and Mikulski, we have until August to accomplish this task. The adjustments we're seeking reflect the weather and safety needs of pilots. We've questioned the service and equipment levels slated for the 15 supplemental locations and have also asked that all 46 facilities be placed under the XFSS title. All the stations need DUAT for full pilot self-briefings, computer terminals not being provided under the current plan. There also may be a few locations missing from the final list that need another review. Don't let this fine-tuning deceive you, however; this is a clear win by AOPA for you pilots who depend on the vital weather information and operational services provided by FSSs.
